A common problem in the use of a toilet is that the seat, and sometimes the cover as well, will not stay in the upright or vertical position. This problem is especially common when there is a covering on the toilet seat cover or the water tank. Supporting the cover and the seat oneself can be awkward or even dangerous.
Several devices have been developed to deal with this problem, but they each have disadvantages.
A toilet hook has been disclosed under U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,515 (Caputo et al). Caputo discloses an apparatus for releasably maintaining a toilet seat in a generally vertical or upright position. One member of the apparatus is adapted to be fixed to the toilet tank. A second member, which has a hook at the top of it, is attached to the first member such that the hook meets the seat and cover at their vertical or upright position and holds them. The seat and cover are released by either lifting or swivelling the second member relative to the first. This action removes the hook from its position maintaining the seat and cover. The size and complexity of this device contribute toward its production costs. In addition, a significant portion of the apparatus would be visible when it is not in use. This could be considered undesirable to some who do not like the aesthetics of this device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,362 (Eure) discloses a latching device for a toilet seat. The Eure device has an elongate strap adhesively secured at one end to the top of a toilet seat cover. One member of a hook-and-loop fastener is attached to the other end of the strap. The other member of the hook and loop fastener is adhesively secured to the bottom of the toilet seat. The two members of the hook-and-loop fastener are brought together to hold the seat and the cover together, however there is nothing holding the cover vertical. If the cover falls down, so will the seat. In addition, as with the Caputo apparatus, a substantial portion of this device is visible when not in use.
Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,940 (Grunz) which holds a toilet seat and its cover together by way of magnets. These magnets are placed in corresponding positions on the top of the seat and the bottom of the cover. As with the Eure device, the cover is not held vertical so that the cover and the seat could fall down together.